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Hi Peeps.....its ok I found him !!! So where was I.....? After successfully crossing the border into Chau Doc Blob was on great form and managed to round up a troop of cyclo drivers to take us out for dinner.Sue and Deb our new Aussie friends were coming too as were Anna and Michael the APP king!!!! (with his new IPhone) from Amsterdam.The deal was they had to take the 6 of us to a VERY Clean local restaurant with local prices and get us there and back in one piece !!Its one person to a cyclo which is exactly what Blob is sat on in the above picture.The rule of thumb seems to be cycle and hope everyone avoids u...... the moto carrying the monk which nearly wiped me out was greatful his brakes were working.Our convoy of 6 arrived at the restaurant and had a fab time.The food was great and the beer and it cost us 3 dollars each.Michael was taking pictures all over the place of bizarre bottle displays???? ....who knows?? Then they sent him in the kitchen ...everyone was laughingand he came out with a photo of the chef waving a huge cleaver at him with a massive smile on his face.So successful was our trip that the following day we booked Thao and Cam for the day.They pedalled us to Sam Mountain (a hill !) but the journey was amazing. We cycled,sorry they cycled through the tiny villages where I dont think they see tourists .They were wavingand smiling at us and they stopped to let us watch some c*** fighting and card playing . We let a couple of motos take us to the top as it was baking.Our cyclo drivers wer in hammocks when we came back down so we joined them for vietnamese iced coffee and tea.Lyn and Holly I dont think u could have coped .Stick to Aarons. They got us back to our hotel and after lunch Thao picked us up and took us on a boat trip to the floating markets and then to the fishing villages.As we were feeding the masses of fish under the houses the dogs were trying to eat it b4 it hit the water...very funny.After this we went to Cham village which is a Moslem village .They were weaving scarves and skirts etc..and we went to the mosque where we watched 3 gorgeous kids about3/ 4 years old cycling with there stabilisers on and giggling their heads off.One little boy had a cleft pallet and Rob was really concerned because his handlebars were twisted and facing the wrong way and his bike kept falling over.But this was apparently what all the giggling was about so we left him be.And then I heard my first Vietnamese joke......We saw a little girl about the same age walking in her fathers flip flops ......
Thao said "Little girl ..Big sole" ....made me laugh anyway
For the grand finale Thao took us by boat to the floating restaurant where we had huge prawns and a large grilled fish to die for.And we watched the sun go down...perfect. Cyclo drivers have a very poor reputation with tourists and have been known to try and rip them off whenever possible. My tip is always go through the itinary at least 3 times but the main thing is to establish a price and dont pay until the end.Also always let your hotel know what you are doing and make the cyclo driver aware of this.NEVER let them say "you pay me what you think" .I cant guarantee that all cyclo drivers are as fair and friendly (or as good looking!!) ...but some do deserve a chance.
Knackered we returned to the hotel and packed...deciding we had earned a beer we went down stairs and got thrown the owners 13 year old son and told to give him an english lesson !!Ok so we did get a free beer but kid with attitude or what.?? Not sure whether he was pissed off because he was being taught by a woman but it did take nearly an hour to get something resembling a smile out of him....dont think i could teach in Vietnam...I only want to teach happy people
So the next morning we caught a very nice bus to Saigon (HCMC) OMG the traffic is crazy....its noisy....it took me 2 days to be able to cross a road.I remember arriving at the bus station (always the skankiest place in any city/town) and Rob was rounding up our bags...I stepped off the bus and made the mistake of saying"...and now what do we do?" ...at which point at least 8 men with very bad teeth were in my face screaming at me........ VERY f***ING SCARY !!! Apparently they were trying to offer me a taxi. We were ushered into another bus and taken into the city.
Saigon suprised me as I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.One afternoon we saw a sign for a "couples hairwash" so in we went.For 5 dollars we both had our hair washed for at least 1/2 an hour..that included the most amazing head massage and my hair has looked and felt amazing ever since.Blob also had his cut.Utopia I think
a) more emphasis on the head massage
b) you actually rest your head on the bottom of a flat sink which is incredibly comfortable
c) maybe you could offer the same service for the same price..????
Ok forget that then
From here we caught an OK bus to Mui Ne.. Pronounced mooey neigh.This is a seaside resort but with erosion has now got no beach.The hotel was fine and the staff although NON smiling (seems to be a bit of a theme over here) were quite nice.Went on a tacky jeep tour to the red dunes and white dunes and fairy stream.Dominic we have found Vietnams answer to Mr Phoumy !!! And then I got sick............
We are now in Dalat in the mountains which is a godsend.....Today is the first day I have eaten in 3 days. Chronic dhiaorrea and vomiting.I need to get back on the solids . #I am taking a course of antibiotics and some lopermide ??? kinda like immodium but has stopped nothing so far.~Bits crossed I'm much better tomorrow as we are travelling to Hoi An on the sleeper bus.~I think Blob got fed up with me being a misgog.He's gone off on a trek for the day with a guy called Tom.Our first day apart and I'm kinda missin him ....although I am sat in the lobby with the girls mopping round my feet and Rot singing his socks off to his laptop as loud as u like.
Ok I'm gonna post this as I have just spent a week looking for it PRESUMED LOST !!!!
I'll be back......
Teens xx
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